tin foil hat

Eck - well done you've worked out the role for the zombies in all this - NONE

Get Jabba to start another e-petition

Esc - I do not necessarily agree with your SFL numbers.

Firstly, apparently, Rangers may not even get a vote (!), so 22 yes votes required.

SFL1 teams will be faced with difficult choice, as would SFL2 teams.

The cash will be getting spread around more evenly anyway, so it is really the sponsor / tv / increased gate money which will be the deciders.

So SFL1 teams next season would have to set up not only to compete with SFL1 quality teams, but bottom 4 SPL teams - how do you do that? Look at how Dundee are struggling - they are an SFL1 team dropped into SPL.

Do the SFL1 teams invest, go into debt, and then struggle if they don't make the top 4? HUGE risk.

SFL2 teams are not guaranteed yes votes either. Yes, they would get 1 home game each in an 18 team league, versus Rangers, but risk being stuck with 16 other teams in the bottom tier - stagnating. So do they risk the value of gate receipts from 1 home game v Rangers against the future after Rangers (probably) get promoted?

Rangers (probably) get promoted
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Such condfidence

oh dear

noone gets relegated from the SPL
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I stopped there....

Its already been stated that promotion and relegation from the SPL will happen this year regardless of change.

You are aware that if things stayed as they are it would still take rangers 2 years to get back to the SPL? under the proposed change it would still take Rangers...erm 2 years to get back to the SPL....

Scottish fitba' is suffering death by a thousand cuts. This is just another nail in the coffin. None of the fans ( or at least the majority of the fans posting here ) seem to want this. All this nonsense about splitting leagues, and meaningless games is just a cover up for the SPL teams to keep their slice of an ever decreasing pie. This change will not stop the rot. The preferred option from the fans is 18 team top league...play each other twice per season....and the team at the top at the end of the season is the winner. Radical or what...?

So much for sporting integrity......the process of 'listening to your fans' has now been consigned to the dustbin....."just geez yer money....yer opinion disnae coont"......

I ain't gonny give any of them my cash......game over as far as I'm concerned.

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The preferred option from the fans is 18 team top league...play each other twice per season....and the team at the top at the end of the season is the winner. Radical or what...?
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No its not. An 18 team league does not work.

Too many meaningless games in the middle and no one going to watch it. This is what drove the change to the SPL in the first place.
Many an elderly fan who watched in the 70's and 80's will tell you you had title winning moments and relegation battles but in the middle was a dirge.

If anything this might add some vigour to that middle section by making all the teams fight for the top 4 places.

In all honesty whats the harm with the change. The teams at the top stay fight it out, the bottom 4 teams in the SPL that would have crowds dropping as they are in the battle for relegation now face fresh teams from Div 1 and also something to play for - hopefully making fans come out on both sets of teams.

I fail to see why its being pillared that badly to be honest...

Obie- with such mature thinking you really should consider a username change
what about 'gobshite'

Tafka - where does it say relegation would remain?

Aside from that, bringing this change in for August means that out of 42 teams THIS season, only 6 teams will actually have had a meaningful season (top 4 SPL, top 2 SFL2).

ANY reconstruction, any type at all must be firstly carefully worked out, prove acceptable to fans, and put in place 1 or 2 seasons in the future.

I care not how long Rangers take to get to top tier under any reconstruction. Yes, playing Annan, Elgin etc next season again would be complete bollox, especially if we have the current league won by March.

But it is what we would be going up IN TO would be the issue.

And I for one ain't buying this double split bollox.

Tafka - where does it say relegation would remain?
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Was stated by Longmuir and Doncaster. Confirmed on Clyde last night when a caller phoned in about the subject.
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Yes, playing Annan, Elgin etc next season again would be complete bollox, especially if we have the current league won by March.
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Yes but you would also play 80% of the current Div 2 as well. In essence the same teams you would face if nothing changes. Rather than face them 4 times however its only 2....

Tafka......get real ! The SPL will cease to be so all promises re promotion etc will die with it. Of course it wont affect Rangers time away from the top league but the OP is about how the process of listening to fans was a one off to justify the treatment of Rangers and at the same time when the effect of that treatment had its effcet on the SPL , the blame could be cascaded to the fans. Some idiots believed it and called it sporting integrity. If this is wrong , then where's the sporting integrity in pushing this proposal through when the majority of fans don't want it ?

Why dont the clubs who listened to their fans re the Rangers issue e.g Cetic, Hibs Dundee Utd , Aberdeen etc etc not do so again ?

Tafka - yep, so if the SFL2 clubs will now only play Rangers once at home, why will they vote for this. Leave it alone & next season they play Rangers TWICE at home.

No brainer for them short term.

And it just needs 7 SFL clubs to say no.

Davie......the current Div 3 clubs will vote for this as they'll get to play us twice again !It will come down to how much money Sky will offer as the deal is up for review at the end of the season and viewing figures are down a massive 50 %.

Tafka......get real ! The SPL will cease to be so all promises re promotion etc will die with it.
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Its not me making this up Coop - its the bodies that have stated it....why would this change anyway? Its to do with this season and the amalgamation of the existing bodies to one entity - of course this will flow through....

As for listening to the fans - this was on a vote - specifically about Rangers.

This proposal is driven from the SFA, SPL and SFL - who are all united on it when last year none of them could decide what the hell to do with Rangers so pushed it to the clubs. While its hardly a fait-au-complet with all three bodies pushing for it I would suggest it stands a good chance of proceeding...

I want a 16 team league that divides in 2 after the first 5 games then multiplies by 3 after 10 then halves again after all the matches are played unless someone plays their joker and then everyone has to pick a number out a hat and thats where you finish.

Is that too much to ask?

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meu - as I said, only 7 SFL clubs required to sink this plan. Guess where those clubs will be from? Yep, SFL2.

And as to current SFL3 clubs voting yes - why? After Rangers move up from an 18 team league, each remaining team will have far less chance of promotion than currently.

Promotion and relegation with regards the SPL will go ahead as normal . So you may want to re-think your article esctosh

And its not all about The rangers , its a move to try and make something a bit more exciting with regards promotion and relegation.
Keep in mind your a div 3 club , the world doesn't revolve around you

Im all for it

I dont really get this "we wouldnt be promoted" argument from bears, the task in hand would still be the same.

If we win the third division, we go into the second and would need to win the second and the first before getting to the top flight.

After reconstruction, we'd still be in the bottom teir aye, but would still need to win the second and the first before getting to the top flight.....whats the big deal and the big difference??? I dont see what the uproar is all about myself

My personal thoughts are we should have a 20 team top flight and a 22 team second teir with at least 3 up and down every season, coz variety is the spice of life in my opinion and playing different teams at different grounds makes games more of an occassion, makes derbies bigger matches as they dont come along as often, and also its a simple and stable setup with no complications.

If thats not going to happen, merging the SPL with the SFL is better than the current sceanrio, coz then the Self Preservation League wont be making decisions it says are for the benefit of Scottish Football, when the only clubs that really do benefit are the top flight ones, so from that point of view, I see this as a good thing.

tornado - why would the new system be more exciting? Btm 4 SPL teams v top 4 SFL1 teams for what, 2 up / down places? How do the new 2nd tier teams set up for that? Do they set up for top tier status? Squeezing into top 4 for play offs, or surviving in bottom 8?

I say again, only 7 votes from 29 SFL clubs required to sink this completely (assuming SPL vote 12-0 or 11-1).

Tafka...this reconstruction is more important that the Rangers issue and should therefore include the fans. The reason why the 3 bodies took so long was because they didn't have the cojones to make a decision, knew the uproar that had ben fed by media frenzie and blogs and "asked" the fans ......they were cowardly. What makes you think that this bunck of bawless cowards have the sense to make the right decision now whenthey couldn't 6 months ago ?

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Jabba will fix it